Du Blonde announces fourth LP, Sniff More Gritty, set for release November 1st via Daemon T.V, and shares raucous lead single ‘TV Star’, out today (21st August) alongside news of an extensive 2025 winter UK tour.
Sniff More Gritty is an album of many faces, some belonging to Du Blonde, others belonging to a host of characters from past loves, to record industry executives, each played with humour and heartbreak in a one-man pantomime of glam-rock, punk, and a single, acrylic nail adorned middle finger. The glimmers of pop teased on 2021’s acclaimed Homecoming LP become firework displays that illuminate stories of missed connections, anxiety, controlling relationships and hard earned peace. In spite of darkness, Du Blonde is choosing fun.
Having self-produced her third album, after years of working relationships with record labels and industry producers, Du Blonde found herself able to finally express herself musically in a way that her previous situation would not allow. The freedom that came with her move to production and engineering opened up a new sonic world for Du Blonde, one that is arguably catchier, more colourful and more exciting than anything she had been allowed to bring forth previously. Aside from live drums, played by Chris McManus, Sniff More Gritty is entirely performed, engineered and produced by Du Blonde, and also features unique collaborations with Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace, Maximo Park’s Paul Smith and The Futureheads’ Ross Millard.
Revealing lead track ‘TV Star’, Du Blonde recounts a tale of two people, one of whom submits to the clutches of fame and the inflated ego that so often develops after a short, sharp rise to the top. Opening with a simple, jangling acoustic strum, the singer ruminates on the dark side of fame and the loss of a real friend at the hands of success. However, the melancholy only lasts so long, switching gears at break-neck speed for a pop-grunge chorus that will have audiences singing along with a shared sense of simultaneous rage and glee before dissipating and making way for the type of ostentatious guitar solo that has become a Du Blonde trademark.
Detailing ‘TV Star’ and its accompanying visuals, Du Blonde explained: “It’s the story of who somebody was before and after fame, and the sadness of losing the good person they used to be. The music video has been ten years in the making. It was important to me to paint a picture of the history of the two people in the song so we used footage of actor and musician Pete Chekvala and myself shot a decade ago in Los Angeles to depict the purity and innocence of the early years, mixed with newer, more intense footage. Although I’m acting in the early clips, I can see even now how much softer I was and how much I still believed in the magic of people. I feel like a lot of the new album swings between characters and mindsets and being able to play with the more unhinged sides of my personality both lyrically and aesthetically has been really freeing and fun.”
Check out the video for ‘TV Star’ – BELOW:
‘Sniff More Gritty’ (LP) Tracklist
01 – Perfect
02 – Dollar Coffee
03 – Solitary Individual (feat. Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace)
04 – TV Star
05 – Out of a Million
06 – ICU
07 – Blame
08 – Lucky
09 – Yesterday
10 – Next Big Thing (feat. Skunk Anansie’s Skin)
11 – Radio Jesus (feat. Maximo Park’s Paul Smith & The Futureheads’ Ross Millard)
12 – Metal Detector
Live Dates
22nd Jan – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s
23rd Jan – Broadcast, Glasgow
24th Jan – The Cluny, Newcastle
26th Jan – YES (Basement), Manchester
28th Jan – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
29th Jan – Yellow Arch, Sheffield
31st Jan – Bodega, Nottingham
1st Feb – The Flapper, Birmingham
2nd Feb – Thekla, Bristol
4th Feb – DUST, Brighton
6th Feb, Moth Club, London
Be the first to comment